Friday Dental Download: June 20, 2014

This week, we announce DentaQuest’s new Certification status, learn about how some types of coffee might be helping your teeth, and discuss how some dentists are promoting oral health in rural communities. Follow along on twitter using the hashtag #FridayDentalDL.

We’re pleased to announce that DentaQuest received Certification status in Credentialing and Recredentialing by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to assessing and reporting on the quality of healthcare.

Proposed nationwide regulations for dental laboratories are in the works because only four states in the U.S. currently require either certification or continuing education for dental technicians and laboratories. In a 2009 American Dental Association (ADA) member survey, 65 percent of dentists responded that they believed dental technicians and laboratories are licensed in their state, while this is not the case. As a result, poorly executed dental procedures can lead to health consequences for patients and legal consequences for dentists.

3. This new technology may put an end to drilling at the dentist’s officeResearchers at King’s College London are developing a procedure that uses low frequency electrical currents to help teeth “self-heal” early-state cavities and moderate tooth decay without drilling. This could mean pain-free, effective solutions that don’t discourage people from returning to the dentist due to a fear of needles and drills.

University of Florida researchers discovered that difficulty understanding and using health information, or poor health literacy, is one of the key reasons people avoid the dentist. This contributes to poor oral health in rural, low-income and vulnerable U.S. populations. To improve communication, the researchers suggest that dentists should avoid using technical language, and oral health education materials should be rewritten to reflect a sixth-grade reading level. Test your Oral Health IQ with our online quiz here.

New researchfrom a team at the Federal University in Rio de Janeiro found that drinking black coffee, without sugar and in moderation, may actually stop tooth decay. The scientists found that coffee canephora, a certain type of coffee bean, has an anti-bacterial property that might help keep teeth healthy by breaking down bacterial biofilms which cause plaque..